Grazed Knees
by xmywastedyouth
Summary: They were best friends as children and then, as they grew up, their friendship turned into something more. AU SasuNaru.
1. Children will be children

Title: Grazed Knees  
Summary: AU Sasuke and Naruto grew up together.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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**Chapter 1: Five years old.**

Naruto sat on his own in the playground. He brought his knees up to his chest and hugged them tightly as he watched the other children playing happily. Iruka, his teacher, had tried several times to encourage them to let Naruto join in their games but they always refused.

"Naruto's different!"

"Naruto's a freak!"

"He's got whiskers on his cheeks!"

Naruto covered his ears with his hands and tried to block out the cruel chanting of the girls as they jumped rope. The more he tried to block the song out, the louder it seemed to get. Naruto stood on wobbly legs and went to run to the other side of the playground, away from the other kids.

He managed a couple of steps before he tripped and fell onto the hard floor. A whimper escaped his lips. He could see that the other children had stopped their games to point and laugh at him.

A boy with raven-coloured hair approached him and knelt on the floor beside him. He examined Naruto's grazed knees with his onyx eyes. "Does it hurt?"

"Y-Yeah," Naruto replied. Fat tears began to roll down his whiskered cheeks before he could stop them.

Sasuke watched as Iruka rushed over to them with a green first-aid kit in his hand.

He quickly stood up, brushed the dirt from his shorts and said, very quietly so no-one else but Naruto could hear, "I like your whiskers. I think they make you look cute."

**Owari**

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Author's Note: Every chapter is going to be another part of their childhood up until sixteen/eighteen. Tell me what you think, reviews make me update stories faster!


	2. Can't see the wood for the trees

Title: Grazed Knees  
Summary: AU Sasuke and Naruto grew up together.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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**Chapter 2: Eight years old.**

It was a hot summer in Konoha. School was out, the sun was shining and Konoha Park was packed with people making the most of the good weather. Sasuke and Naruto had spent the day sprawled out on the grass underneath an old tree, shielded from the hot sun by its branches.

"Hey, Sasuke!" Naruto said loudly as he jumped up from the grass.

Sasuke looked up from the book he'd been reading and raised an eyebrow. "What, dobe?"

"Bet 'cha you can't climb this tree faster than me!" Naruto challenged.

"Hn. That tree is ancient, it probably isn't safe to climb..."

Sasuke watched as Naruto scrambled up the trunk of the tree and hooked his legs over the first branch. "Heh, not safe? I think you're just being a chicken!"

"Naruto..." The weak branch snapped under Naruto's weight. Sasuke's onyx eyes widened. "Naruto!"

"Ahh!" Naruto squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the pain. It never came.

He slowly opened his eyes and saw that Sasuke had somehow managed to catch him mid-fall. The two boys tumbled down to the grass-covered ground together. "Sasuke?"

Sasuke glared down at Naruto. "Dobe." He sighed and rubbed at the scratches on his knees.

"Does it hurt?" Naruto asked his best friend, feeling guilty.

"No," Sasuke lied stubbornly.

Naruto ducked his head and placed an innocent, sweet kiss on Sasuke's cheek. "Thanks, Sas!"

**Owari**

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Author's note: Heh, couldn't imagine Sasuke being the type to cry over being hurt even at a young age. Um, this is an AU fiction so I don't know if I'm going to include the whole Uchiha Massacre, what do you guys think?

Reviews make me update faster. My thanks goes to everyone who reviewed/favourited/alerted the last chapter.


	3. Have you ever been kissed?

Title: Grazed Knees  
Summary: AU Sasuke and Naruto grew up together.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

**Chapter 3: Twelve years old.**

Naruto lounged on Sasuke's bed watching as the raven-haired boy wrote out his homework in neat script. "Sasuke?"

Sasuke sighed exasperatedly. "What do you want now, Naruto?" He didn't bother to look at the blond.

Used to Sasuke's behaviour, Naruto didn't care about him being rude. "Have you ever kissed someone?"

That got Sasuke's attention. "W-What?"

Naruto smirked at his best friend's stuttering. "Have you kissed someone before, teme?"

Sasuke looked over at Naruto warily, homework left forgotten on his desk. "No...Have you?"

"No. Do you...Do you want to try it?" Naruto stared at the bed covers, embarassed.

"You want me to kiss you?" Sasuke asked in disbelief. He really hoped his brother, Itachi, wasn't listening outside the door.

Naruto blushed a delicate shade of pink. "Don't you want to know what it's like? Besides, it'd just be like an experiment or practice y'know?"

"I don't know..."

"C'mon, Sas, I swear I won't tell anyone. I don't want Sakura to think I'm a fool when I don't know how to kiss her!" Naruto whined.

Sasuke frowned at the mention of Sakura, he'd never been fond of the pink-haired girl Naruto crushed on. "Fine," he said simply.

Naruto grinned. "Yay! Thanks, teme!" He patted the space on the bed next to him. "Pucker up then, lover boy!" He joked.

Sasuke hid his blush behind his bangs and obediently sat on the bed. He looked at Naruto uncertainly, not sure what to do. "Umm..."

He leant forward and cupped Naruto's whiskered cheek in the palm of his hand, thumb stroking the familiar scars gently, and then pulled their faces closer together. He shut his eyes and closed the gap between them so that their lips brushed together in a simple, chaste kiss.

Sasuke was about to pull away when he finally felt Naruto respond. Their lips moved in time together, slowly at first and then more desperately until the kiss was deep and bruising. He slid his tongue across the blond's bottom lip, silently requesting entrance. Naruto moaned and Sasuke took the opportunity to massage his tongue against Naruto's.

They continued exploring each other's mouths until the severe lack of oxygen made them both light-headed and disorientated.

Sasuke broke the kiss and rested his forehead against Naruto's, a thin thread of saliva still connected their lips. "That was-" Sasuke began.

"Amazing?" Naruto suggested in a breathless voice.

"Yeah...It was pretty amazing," Sasuke agreed with pink-dusted cheeks.

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Author's Note: Oh good ol' fashioned experimenting! I can't write detailed kissing for shit but, ah well, I tried and that's the main thing! Hum dum dum, reviews make me update faster and I'm thinking there shall be 2/3 more chapters of this story.

People who review are awesome and get free kisses from Sasuke and Naruto ;)


	4. It's as easy as riding a bike

Title: Grazed Knees  
Summary: AU Sasuke and Naruto grew up together.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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**Chapter 4: Thirteen years old.**

"You've got to be kidding me," Sasuke said, staring in disbelief at his best friend.

Naruto pouted, golden bangs falling across his sky-blue eyes. "It's not my fault nobody ever taught me!" He huffed, cheeks tinted pink with embarrassment.

Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "Right...Well, climb on then," he demanded, inclining his head towards the brand-new bright orange bike.

"Thanks, Sas, you're the greatest!" Naruto exclaimed happily as he clambered onto the bike. "What next?" He asked eagerly, his short legs making it so his feet barely touched the pedals.

"Are you sure that bike isn't a little big for you?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.

Naruto scowled at the comment on his height. "I can ride anything I want to ride," he replied haughtily.

"I'm sure you can..." Sasuke said with a smirk. Naruto looked at him innocently, blue eyes blinking in confusion. "Make sure you're holding onto the handles tightly and then pedal."

"Kay!" Naruto gripped the handles and, poking his tongue out in concentration, began to pedal down the road, wobbly and slow. "How am I doing?"

"You're doing great, Naru." Sasuke watched through amused onyx eyes, he was waiting for the inevitable fall. Sure enough, Naruto soon hit the kerb and fell from the bike. "Are you OK?" Sasuke called worriedly, hurrying over to where his friend was sprawled across the gravel.

Naruto looked up at him through watery blue eyes but he didn't cry, he was too old for that now. "M'fine..."

Sasuke sighed. "Let me see," he ordered. Naruto obediently rolled up his pants to show him his bloody knee. "Ouch," Sasuke commented.

"Don't touch it...It hurts," Naruto whimpered burying his face into Sasuke's shoulder.

"Ok...Shall we go back inside?" Sasuke asked, brushing his lips against Naruto's forehead in an attempt to comfort him.

Naruto looked up at him, blue eyes sparkling with tears and determination. "Can we just try again, Sas?"

**Owari**

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Author's note: Hum, probably going to bring this chapter to a close in a couple of chapters unless anyone has any ideas? I'm thinking the next one will be age 15 :) Reviews puhleasee?


	5. Does it hurt?

Title: Grazed Knees  
Summary: AU Sasuke and Naruto grew up together.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Sixteen years old.**

Sasuke and Sakura.

Together.

_Kissing_.

Naruto felt like his heart was about to explode into a thousand pieces. He was sure it would ruin the moment for the lip-locked couple if they were suddenly covered in the gooey remains of Naruto's shattered heart.

Or maybe they would dance in the down-pour of his heart-break.

All the moisture from his throat seemed to have gathered in the back of his eyes. He refused to cry. Even as he told himself that he wouldn't cry, Naruto could feel the crystal tears slipping down his whiskered cheeks.

_"I like your whiskers. I think they make you look cute."_

Naruto smiled sadly at the memory.

He couldn't help but wonder why he was hurt more by Sasuke's betrayal than Sakura's - the girl he was supposedly in love with. Naruto supposed it was because he'd known Sasuke for longer and had trusted him...

_"Have you kissed someone before, teme?"_

"S-Sasuke," Naruto whispered brokenly. His eyes closed in an attempt to shut out the memories of their friendship that were flooding back to him.

Sasuke pushed Sakura away from him roughly and looked at Naruto with wide eyes. "Naruto?" He saw the tears and guilt creeped in. "It's not what it looks like," He began half-heartedly. What could he say to make the situation any better?

A snort sounded from the blond before his eyes opened once again. Sasuke was left breathless by the raw emotion he found in those blue depths. "It kinda looked like you had your tongue down my girlfriend's throat."

"She kissed _me_-"

"_You_ kissed her back!" Naruto yelped, voice cracking as more tears spilled down his cheeks.

Sasuke moved closer to the crying blond, ignoring any protest from the pink-haired girl. "Does it hurt?" He asked Naruto quietly. Ever since they'd kissed four years ago Sasuke had wondered if Naruto had any feelings for him.

Naruto clutched the fabric of his t-shirt, directly above the heart, and met Sasuke's cool onyx with watery blue. "I thought I could trust you with anything," he choked out. "You both betrayed me but I always expected it from Sakura... I never expected it from you and that hurts more than you'll ever know."

Sasuke moved to wipe the tears from his best friend's cheeks like he'd done so many times when they were younger. "Naruto..."

"No!" Naruto flinched away from his touch.

"Naruto, please." Sasuke murmured, grabbing the blond's fist as he clumsily tried to punch him.

"I hate you!"

Sasuke's grip on Naruto's fist loosened and the blond yanked it back before punching the raven-haired boy in the jaw with all his strength. Sasuke's head snapped to the side with the impact but he didn't fight back.

Naruto punched him again and again. "Fight me back, bastard!" He demanded, body shaking with anger and sobs.

"No," Sasuke whispered before pulling the shaking blond into a tight embrace. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

"I hate you," Naruto repeated but he sounded uncertain. His voice was muffled as he buried his face into Sasuke's chest, seeking comfort.

They stayed there for what felt like hours until Naruto's sobs ceased and he pulled away from the hug. Sakura had left them alone at some point but Naruto barely remembered her being there at all. She didn't matter to him any more.

Naruto looked at the damage he'd inflicted on the raven-haired boy and bit his lip worriedly. His face was bruised, swollen and he had a busted lip too. Naruto reached up shakily to brush his fingers against the bruising. Sasuke winced at the slight sting but he didn't move away.

"Does it hurt?" Naruto asked in a whisper, his eyes locking onto Sasuke's.

Sasuke buried his face gently into the blond locks of hair and replied, "Not as much as I hurt you."

**Owari**

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Author's note: I haven't updated this story in a while. 2 more chapters left at the most! I'm quite happy with this chapter. :)


	6. Drunk or notsodrunk?

Title: Grazed Knees  
Summary: AU Sasuke and Naruto grew up together.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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**Chapter 6: Eighteen years old.**

"Hello?" Naruto answered his phone, voice thick with sleep. Sleep that had been disturbed by the incessant ringing. He held the phone to his ear with one hand and ran the other hand through his messy hair in an attempt to tame the unruly locks.

No answer came and Naruto found himself losing patience. Who would prank call him at - he glanced at the clock - three in the morning? He closed his eyes and sighed, "Hello?" He repeated in a firmer tone of voice.

Just as he was about to hang up the call he heard a voice mumbling incoherently. "What did you just say?"

"I said I love you, idiot."

Naruto stared at the phone in shock, as though the inanimate object held all the answers in the known universe. "_Sasuke_?" He asked, refusing to believe it was his stoic best friend calling him at three in the morning, confessing his love.

Yet again there was no answer but Naruto could hear the sounds of traffic in the background... And then the delightful sound of retching and vomit splattering across the pavement. Naruto felt ill just listening to it.

"I n-need y-oou to pick me up. I got kicked out of the p-uub and I can't remember the way home..."

Naruto listened to the slurred sentence and raised an eyebrow. "Are you drunk?" He questioned, amused more than anything.

"Are you going to pick me up or not, dobe?"

"Sure."

Ten minutes later, after Sasuke had given him directions, Naruto pulled up outside the pub and unlocked the passenger door so Sasuke could climb into the car. He glanced over at the dark-haired boy with a smirk. "I can't believe you got drunk."

Sasuke frowned at him. "I tell you I love you and you're more concerned by the fact I'm drunk?"

Naruto chewed on his bottom lip and kept his eyes on the road. "If you really loved me you'd tell me when you were sober, teme."

"I am sober," Sasuke said softly.

"But you said-"

"I needed something to fall back on. If you reacted badly to my confession I could just blame it on the alcohol," Sasuke explained with pink-tinted cheeks.

Naruto looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "What do you have to fall back on now?" He asked softly.

Sasuke stared at his lap and shrugged his shoulders. He was looking more and more like his twelve year old self, nervous of being rejected. Naruto had barely reacted at all to his confession and that scared him more than anything else could have. "Nothing. I'm just risking it and hoping..."

Naruto kept one hand on the wheel and took Sasuke's hand in his other, interlacing their fingers. "I'm glad..."

"Does this mean-"

"Do you remember when we were twelve and I asked you to kiss me? I think I've been in love with you since then." Naruto pulled up outside his apartment, a light blush on his whiskered cheeks.

Sasuke chuckled lowly, relieved that his feelings were requited. He turned Naruto's head to face him, stroking his thumb over the familiar whisker marks absent-mindedly. "Do you remember when we were five?"

Naruto nodded his head, eyes sparkling under the street-lights.

"I thought you were the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. I told you I liked your whiskers, remember?"

"I remember..."

Sasuke smiled, a rare thing for the normally stoic boy. "I don't think there's a particular moment when I fell in love with you, dobe. I think I just always have."

Naruto gave a watery smile and pulled his best friend - lover? - into a kiss. And then another one.

"_I love you_." It wasn't clear which boy had said it but it didn't matter, they both felt it.

**Owari**

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Author's note:

This was short but - in my opinion, anyway - kinda sweet. I didn't want a confession where it came as a surprise - I think Naruto KNEW that Sasuke loved him, hence the lack of reaction. It was just a matter of saying it.

Hopefully you guys will agree with me and not consider it too strange a confession scene!

One more chapter and it'll be quite a large time skip. :D


	7. Beginning of the End

Title: Grazed Knees  
Summary: AU Sasuke and Naruto grew up together.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

**Chapter 7: Twenty-six years old.**

"I just feel like our relationship is coming to an end," Naruto told his best friend - Kiba Inuzuka - while staring into a half-full bowl of ramen.

Kiba wolfed down the rest of his meal, licked his lips and looked at his blond-haired friend. It just wasn't right for Naruto to be miserable, it didn't suit him. "It makes sense... You've been with him for how long now?"

Naruto answered immediately, "Eight years, two months." He gave Kiba a sad smile. "What am I supposed to do, Kibs? He spends all his time at work or at business lunches. I feel like I'm only there to cook him a meal when he gets home and warm the bed."

"Maybe he really is just busy with work?"

"No... He's been working there for the past three years and it's only recently that he's started staying late. It's like he's avoiding me... Fuck, I can't even _remember_ the last time we had sex-"

Kiba cut in with a horrified expression, "Too much information there, Blondie!"

Naruto gave him a desperate look, ignoring Kiba's interruption completely. "What do I _do_?"

"Hm," Kiba brought a finger to his chin in thought. "Confront him? Read his text messages? Go to his work and find out what he's doing?"

Naruto's phone beeped with a message. He flipped it open and read it. "It's from him. He wants me home for dinner tonight... He said it's important," Naruto murmured looking up at Kiba with a terrified expression. "He's going to break up with me..."

Kiba gave his friend a sympathetic smile. "If he does break up with you... He's an idiot."

Naruto returned the smile with a somewhat watery one of his own. "T-Thanks Kibs."

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"Tadaima," Naruto called out as he entered the apartment. He could smell something cooking in the kitchen but before he could investigate Sasuke steered him towards the dining table and sat him down in one of the chairs.

Sasuke leant over his blond lover, kissed his cheek and whispered, "Okaeri."

Naruto watched as the dark-haired boy disappeared into the kitchen before returning with two plates of food. He set one of the plates in front of Naruto and one in front of himself. He seated himself in the opposite chair and opened a bottle of wine. "We need to talk..."

The blond lowered his gaze, staring at the varnished wood of the table. "I know."

Sasuke seemed surprised, lowering his knife and fork and glancing over at the quiet blond. "You do?"

Naruto snorted, rolling his cerulean blue eyes. "You think I didn't see this coming? You've been staying out late, acting secretive..."

"Then you already know that I-"

"Want to break up with me?"

"-Want you to marry me?"

They both stared at each other, shocked and confused by what the other had said. Sasuke was the first to speak, voice shaking slightly. "Y-You thought I was going to break up with you?"

Naruto fidgeted with the edge of the tablecloth and shrugged his shoulders. "You don't come near me anymore, Sasuke... You stay at work late every night and on your days off you have business lunches with people I don't know... I feel alone."

The chair screeched across the wooden floorboards as Sasuke stood up and crossed the distance between himself and his lover. "You idiot," he whispered, kneeling on the floor next to the watery-eyed blond's chair. "I was out late looking for the perfect ring. I only avoided you because I was scared you would figure it out..."

"So... You're not leaving me?" Naruto looked down at Sasuke, tears slipping down his sun-kissed cheeks.

Sasuke wiped the tears away with the pad of his thumb. "Not ever... Shall we do this properly?" He fumbled in his pocket and retrieved a ring box, he opened it and revealed to Naruto a beautiful ring with a small blue gem.

"Sasuke..." Naruto whispered with a small smile.

The raven-haired boy gave a nervous smile of his own. "Marry me, Naruto."

"Is that a question or an order?"

"_Naruto_."

"Of course I'll marry you... I love you."

"I love you, too. Forever."

**Owari**

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Author's note:

There you have it, the last chapter. I know this story might seem a little bit 'so they had two chapters as lovers' but there WAS an eight year gap between the getting together and the getting engaged.

I was going to do this last chapter VERY differently with a whole lot of angst and fluff but I changed my mind because I wanted to keep this story as un-angsty as possible. The original chapter would've had a character death or an almost character death so you guys should be happy I changed my mind ;)

Wow, talk about a fast update! I had one chapter left and I reeeaaaaaaally wanted to get it uploaded and 'completed' asap.

Thanks everyone who reviewed this story. Want something else to read? My two priority stories atm are: **Learn to be Lonely** and **Lessons in Love**

Love you all! **OMG I found Waldo**


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